Hi all, We are planning a very last minute (forced rather than selected... long story...) holiday in a circle flying into Milan from London heading towards Verona, on to Salzburg direction, then towards Zurich and basically circling back to Milan via Lake Como. All vague because we are not pinned to any particular thing except a desire to spend a week by Lake Como towards the end and a desire to visit a place called Schloss Neuschwanstein. Vague because we don't know the first thing about the area except the bits we have read about in the past week. Any and all ideas are greatfully and thankfully received as we are spinning in circles as we don't know the best way to divide our time (we have approx 4 weeks starting from July 5th) I am trying to get my head around the packing up of our home here in London, a move back to Australia, a visit to relatives in America and a last fling trip in Europe as we won't be able to get back for some years. I'm going crosseyed and need help from all you intrepid and knowledgeable slowtravs! As it is so close in time a lot of places are already booked, it is overwhelmingly expensive and it will be crowded and hot. We are taking the plunge though and have plotted a few ideas out. Can any one help with good things to see/do in summer in these areas with a 9 year old in tow? Good places to stay or eat or visit? I have looked at past posts (thanks ashley97 and RawShow...) but rentals are thin on the ground in the slowtrav archives. Help!!!!! (And thanks to the people who are helping me with the LA leg on the America forum)
cheers RobynAP

RobynAP, I feel your pain. I felt the same way when trying to plan our upcoming trip to Sicily. Since you haven't gotten a response to your plea, perhaps dividing your question into segments would help? We stayed in Lake Garda many years ago and unfortunately can't recommend our hotel (don't remember the name; don't want to remember.) Verona looked lovely. Padua seems off the beaten path and much less expensive than Venice although just a short train ride away. Best of luck.

quote:

Schloss Neuschwanstein.

Are you going into Bavaria, too? Isn't that where Schloss Neuschwanstein is--or is my memory faulty, which is quite possible.

You might contact Gio59 on this board (that's his board name so just do a search.) He has and represents properties on Lake Como and is highly regarded by ST people who have used his services. We are doing so in July.

RobynAP,
The setting and surroundings of Neuschwanstein are breathtaking, but the inside of the castle is so-so. Ludwig II never got around to decorating it before he was deposed.
Are you going to see his other two casltes - Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee? They are absolutely mad, 19th century hollywood productions, replete with hidden theatrical lighting, artificial grotto, dining table that disappears down the floor onto the kitchen below…
The whole area around the 3 castles is also an exceptionally beautiful region.
Places to stay? I especially liked the towns of Bad Tölz and Schwangau.
Bon voyage.

Our family has spent quite a bit of time in the Bavarian Alps, the first time when our daughter was about four. We'll be there this summer for a week, based this time in Garmisch. On all our previous trips we've stayed in Oberammergau, which is a quaint town of painted houses.

Your kids should love the castles. (We've been to all of them.) You can take a train or cable car up into the mountains near Garmisch and do a little hiking on the top. There is a famous gorge near Garmisch... go to the top of the Zugspitze.

If you do a search on "Salzburg," I've got several postings about our experiences there. We love the village of St. Gilgen (spent two weeks there a few summers ago) and it is a fabulous family destination... about 30 minutes from Salzburg. See photos here. We will also be here for a week this summer, staying in a rental.

In Berchtesgaden, Germany (about 30 minutes from Salzburg) you can visit the salt mines (great!) and take a boat out on Lake Konigsee.

Robyn, I have a review for a rental in Oberammergau... look at that one... very reasonably priced and you'd be maybe 45 minutes from Neuschwanstein. See my photo album here from our April 2005 visit.

Someone mentioned Gio's rentals on Lake Como. We spent a week there on our long trip and really enjoyed that area of Lake Como. (We made a day trip over to Lugano, Switzerland and enjoyed that a lot.) But we were there in April.

I'm not sure I totally understand your trip, but hopefully some of this may help.

Kathy

Thanks everyone, it is a confusion! Like all big things, it starts overwhelming, but then as you learn more it breaks down into bite size pieces. I am unfamiliar with the areas we are visiting which adds to my confusion. Trying to keep to a tight budget in peak season too! I have narrowed things down a little to cordinate with accommodation we like the look of and can afford and are available with areas we think look interesting. We will now fly into Milan from London, hire a car and drive to Verona for a couple of nights. From there we are heading to a lovely looking B&B with a pool in the countryside of Veneto to relax, play and keep cool. Still confirming dates and availability on that one though so fingers crossed. We will head from there to a hotel in Fussen to visit the castles over several days and to look around the lake and head up into hills. After Fussen we are umming and ahhing over a hotel that I found via SlowTrav in Berkenried as it is very cute and has a garden to sit out in and play in. Unfortunately I read the description "two guests in the room" as the price for two people and then add on our child. What they mean is per person with two gueats in the room and add on a child. So that one is now way too expensive (after being a great bargain)so we have to re think, but we will stay somewhere around there or Lucerne. From there we drop down to the west side of Lake Como to spend a week in an apartment "Casa Matra Ponto" in a village called Sala Comacina. It isn't quite what we had in mind (no garden) but it looks lovely and it was vacant so beggars can't be choosers! And we are happy to have somewhere at last as everywhere we liked was booked! From there we have an easy drive to Milan to fly out from. So we are getting there. I will look up all the towns and names you have all contributed and see whats what this afternoon. The names mean nothing to me yet, but once I can place where things are, I can work with it! Than you so much, my panic is subsiding...
Planning a trip in popular Europe during peak time with 8 weeks notice is never good, but nothing is impossible! Thank you!!!

RobynAP,
Fussen is a very pretty town. Good choice.
May I suggest that you use paragraphs and lists. The long single paragraph probably makes your planning look more confusing than it should. No wonder your head explodes.
If you use more paragraphs and lists, it will probably help us read and also help you plan.

Oops, sorry, I should know better. My "quick" replies are a bit long winded! Glad to hear Fussen is a good choice, I'm slowly gaining confidence! If I get too many doubts, I just look at those photos of the lovely pastries in that area...

quote:

I am trying to get my head around the packing up of our home here in London, a move back to Australia, a visit to relatives in America and a last fling trip in Europe as we won't be able to get back for some years.

This must seem like an overwhelming number of things to do before you leave London. I find that lists help organize my mind and get everything a little more under control.

Don't know very much about Northern Italy, except I love Lago d'orta is wonderful.

We also took our children a few years back to Fussen. We loved the Schloss Neuschwanstein castle. The whole area is breathtaking!

In fact our whole trip is similar to yours but in reverse. We were in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and lastly Venice for a couple of days.

On the same trip we also did the salt mine tour, but we stayed on Lake Hallstatt on the Austrian side. I simply do not think there is a more beautiful place in the world!It was so relaxing and our kids said it was one of their favorite spots on the whole trip. The salt mine tour outside Hallstatt is really fun for the kids. Part of it is like a wild Disney ride.Rick Steves talks about it in his book on Austria, Germany & Switzerland.

Have fun!

Thanks guys, all very helpful. I am now the queen of lists, although I now need a list to keep my lists under control! I think I will be happier when all the accommodation is booked. We have had a few problems with communication/language in a few instances, so I'm not entirely sure if that means we will turn up and there will be no room! I'm a stickler for cementing these details...
Thanks again everyone!